VCU extends streak to five, holds off Cleveland State.

VCU looked to push their winning streak to five as they hosted Cleveland State University tonight. After winning the last four by an average margin of about 20 points, the Rams would have to fight a little harder to get there but they would pull away from the Vikings, defeating Cleveland State 72-63.

Senior Treveon Graham was responsible for the games first eight points which put him in the No.9 spot as VCU’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing VCU great, Nick George. The lopsided scoring would continue a little bit longer as the Rams defense held Cleveland State scoreless for the first five minutes of the game.

The Vikings would not make the final out of conference game for VCU an easy one however. They would go on a three-minute offensive run that would eventually see the game tied at 24 with just five minutes left in the first half.

Coach Smart’s halftime speech must have reawaken the team because the start of the second half saw a rejuvenated Rams squad as they would extend the lead back to double-digits right away.

Graham would lead all scorers with 20 on the night. Freshman Terry Larrier was runner up with 13 points as he shot 3-of-6 from downtown.

Statistically, the game was fairly even. VCU grabbed 33 rebounds while CSU grabbed 38. Both teams shot around 40% from behind the arch and both took around 50 shots each. Turnovers were a different story. CSU turned it over 13 times compared to VCU’s 5. VCU was able to convert those turnovers into 15 points in the win.

VCU will travel to New York as they will start conference play at Fordham at 1pm, Sunday January 4th on CBS Sports Network.